Sent: Monday, September 15, 2008 4:01 PM
Subject: Juneau
After Hoonah we went on to Juneau. Passed a large sea lion colony on a small rocky island. We were very close and doing 9 kts under sail when we discovered each other. Lots of excitement from us as everyone ran for their cameras. More excitement from them with bellowing, snorting, and other sea lion outrage. We passed downwind from them---and won’t again as the smell was enough to gag a maggot. Juneau was quiet on our arrival with no cruise ships in (I'm told it was the only day of the year without them). Juneau sits up an old glacial valley which is narrow with very steep sides. The town has equal proportions of fur shops, jewelry stores, and bars--about a hundred of each. The next morning we awoke to find 6 cruise ships in. Oil money was distributed---3000 in cash to every Alaskan resident including children. The Indians went nuts. Jon got off and Gill flew in. It rains every day in Juneau. Today we left in dense fog and headed down the narrow Gastineau channel. Our old VHF died and Tom got us a new one Which Gill brought. Jeff worked franticly to install it as we felt our way out with the hand held, GPS and radar. 3 cruise ships came in past us. Lot’s of chatter on the radio--Fog horns echoing up and down the ravine. The cruise ships materializing out of the mist very close aboard---a puckering experience for a Florida boy.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Jeff's Log ~ Saturday, September 13th, 2008
Saturday September 13, 2008
I just realized that I had forgotten to write about Elfin Cove, and that would have left out what is possibly the neatest small town in America. The whole town is built around a boardwalk system that is their highway. One section had the roots of the trees exposed, and I could see the way the roots anchor the trees to the rock. The government maintains it and all of the docks. Everybody in town knows everybody else. Of course, the main occupation is fishing, so every life in the area is involved in fishing one way or another. We refueled upon arrival at a very solid floating dock. We had to wait for a little while because the girl working there had just washed her hair, and it had to get rinsed and dried.
After fueling, we moved over to the transient dock, and rafted up on a fish boat. The owner’s name was Geoff, and he was quite a quiet, nice guy. One of the other boats down the dock gave us a beautiful Coho salmon as a welcome gift. Geoff filleted it for me, which was very nice of him. I gave him a few beers for his effort. I walked all the way around town on the boardwalk, and stopped at the general store. The shopkeeper’s name is Joanne, and she told me in conversation that she was fifty six years old. I couldn’t believe it! She looked to be in her late thirties. She said she looked so young because of the Allute heritage, and the fact that she never spends any time in the sun. I made my purchases and returned to the boat with a rare treat, ice cream. I spent the rest of the time before dinner chatting with the neighbor, Geoff, and enjoyed the warmth of his boat. He has a diesel fired stove that provides warmth as well as cooking. We had a great dinner with the marinated Coho being cooked on the grill by yours truly, and Pat made garlic mashed potatoes. After dinner and ice cream, we watched some more two and a half men, and retired.
Enroute to Juneau, Alaska
Yesterday was a cold, miserable, rainy day and we made our way to Hoonah, Alaska. It is a neat looking town as the approach is made from sea. An old cannery is the first thing that you see, and it has been restored and made into a visitor’s cultural center where the native Indians do a show and sell tribal things for the cruise ship passengers. Unfortunately, I was not able to get pictures because of no life in camera batteries, but I will try to get some e-mailed to me. Sorry about that. We tied up on the municipal dock, and I went to register as usual. The ranger’s name was Paul; and he was very helpful with getting necessary phone numbers.
There were two choices for dinner. One was a pizza and deli type place, the other was a lodge about a mile away. The deli had no alcohol, the lodge of course did. Well, you can probably guess where we had dinner. The taxi to the lodge is charged by the person. It is five dollars for the first person, and four dollars for each additional. The crew thought that that was outrageous, but we took the taxi to the lodge anyway, as it was raining. The special was barbequed ribs, and we all had that. Food was OK, too salty for my taste, though. After dinner, the crew all walked back to the boat, and Scott took the cab. The driver beeped his horn as they passed.
I was glad for the walk, as that was the only way I would see any of the town. Jon and I kept going past the boat to see what “downtown” was like. It is a very tiny town, and it did not take very long at all to walk the length of it. All of the stores were closed, as it was after 1700. Most of the housing is either mobile homes, or manufactured housing. There were a few very nice homes though. We returned to the boat and the hearts championship was retained by Jon. Then it was lights out, so that we would be fresh and ready for the trip to Juneau.
This morning was coffee as usual, with the lines being thrown at 0800. On the way out of the harbor area, we were met by a couple of playful seals who were cruising by us looking for their breakfast. It was a very quick passing, as they were going the opposite direction. At about 1030, we are actually under sail, and just passed a small island filled with sea lions, the odor as we passed was pretty bad. We did not stop for pictures because we were sailing rather quickly on a brisk southeast wind.
I just realized that I had forgotten to write about Elfin Cove, and that would have left out what is possibly the neatest small town in America. The whole town is built around a boardwalk system that is their highway. One section had the roots of the trees exposed, and I could see the way the roots anchor the trees to the rock. The government maintains it and all of the docks. Everybody in town knows everybody else. Of course, the main occupation is fishing, so every life in the area is involved in fishing one way or another. We refueled upon arrival at a very solid floating dock. We had to wait for a little while because the girl working there had just washed her hair, and it had to get rinsed and dried.
After fueling, we moved over to the transient dock, and rafted up on a fish boat. The owner’s name was Geoff, and he was quite a quiet, nice guy. One of the other boats down the dock gave us a beautiful Coho salmon as a welcome gift. Geoff filleted it for me, which was very nice of him. I gave him a few beers for his effort. I walked all the way around town on the boardwalk, and stopped at the general store. The shopkeeper’s name is Joanne, and she told me in conversation that she was fifty six years old. I couldn’t believe it! She looked to be in her late thirties. She said she looked so young because of the Allute heritage, and the fact that she never spends any time in the sun. I made my purchases and returned to the boat with a rare treat, ice cream. I spent the rest of the time before dinner chatting with the neighbor, Geoff, and enjoyed the warmth of his boat. He has a diesel fired stove that provides warmth as well as cooking. We had a great dinner with the marinated Coho being cooked on the grill by yours truly, and Pat made garlic mashed potatoes. After dinner and ice cream, we watched some more two and a half men, and retired.
Enroute to Juneau, Alaska
Yesterday was a cold, miserable, rainy day and we made our way to Hoonah, Alaska. It is a neat looking town as the approach is made from sea. An old cannery is the first thing that you see, and it has been restored and made into a visitor’s cultural center where the native Indians do a show and sell tribal things for the cruise ship passengers. Unfortunately, I was not able to get pictures because of no life in camera batteries, but I will try to get some e-mailed to me. Sorry about that. We tied up on the municipal dock, and I went to register as usual. The ranger’s name was Paul; and he was very helpful with getting necessary phone numbers.
There were two choices for dinner. One was a pizza and deli type place, the other was a lodge about a mile away. The deli had no alcohol, the lodge of course did. Well, you can probably guess where we had dinner. The taxi to the lodge is charged by the person. It is five dollars for the first person, and four dollars for each additional. The crew thought that that was outrageous, but we took the taxi to the lodge anyway, as it was raining. The special was barbequed ribs, and we all had that. Food was OK, too salty for my taste, though. After dinner, the crew all walked back to the boat, and Scott took the cab. The driver beeped his horn as they passed.
I was glad for the walk, as that was the only way I would see any of the town. Jon and I kept going past the boat to see what “downtown” was like. It is a very tiny town, and it did not take very long at all to walk the length of it. All of the stores were closed, as it was after 1700. Most of the housing is either mobile homes, or manufactured housing. There were a few very nice homes though. We returned to the boat and the hearts championship was retained by Jon. Then it was lights out, so that we would be fresh and ready for the trip to Juneau.
This morning was coffee as usual, with the lines being thrown at 0800. On the way out of the harbor area, we were met by a couple of playful seals who were cruising by us looking for their breakfast. It was a very quick passing, as they were going the opposite direction. At about 1030, we are actually under sail, and just passed a small island filled with sea lions, the odor as we passed was pretty bad. We did not stop for pictures because we were sailing rather quickly on a brisk southeast wind.
Jeff's Log ~ Saturday, September 6th, 2008
Saturday, September 6, 2008 about 80 miles NE of Seward, Alaska
Scott’s brother Jon arrived on the morning of the fourth, about two and a half hours early. There was a sinkhole along the Alaskan Railroad some where, and the train was not running. All of the train’s passengers got switched to busses, which make the trip from Anchorage quicker than the train does. I could tell that he was a Piper as soon as I saw his face. We had a great introduction to each other, and I helped him get his bag onto the boat.
The weather cooperated, and I could finally spend some time outdoors with no rain. I proceeded to scrub the boat from front to back, and gave the cockpit cushions lots of soap and water. While I was scrubbing the transom, I pulled up the crab trap, and there was a crab in it. It was too small to keep, however, but at least I know that the trap works! I managed to get the whole boat washed, and was no sooner done than the clouds came back, and then it rained all night. The boat still looks good though, and we awaited the arrival of Ken and Pat. They arrived on the train at 11:05 on the morning of the fifth. I had sailed with them at the start of my trip a year ago, and it is good to have them aboard again. They enjoy cooking, so the first place we went was to the grocery store. The taxi driver had her new pet with her. He is a Springer spaniel and a very nice dog.
Grocery shopping is one thing that I have come to enjoy, and this trip was fun as usual. When completed, we had to fold down the rear seat in a minivan to make enough room for the groceries. Ken and Pat enjoy wine very much, so there was a good supply of that on top of the stack. Upon arrival at the boat, everything got stowed and we were off the dock in short order with our destination about sixty miles away. Pat made a lunch of hot dogs for us, and it may sound silly, but I sure did enjoy having a couple of great American hotdogs with all of the fixings. It had been over a year since I had a good hot dog.
We anchored in a very calm, protected cove, and as usual, when all was quiet, the sound of a nearby waterfall could be plainly heard. There was a bald eagle cruising around, and he sat in a tree not far from us for a little while. Ken made some of one of my personal favorites, macaroni and cheese, from scratch. Unfortunately, he was unaccustomed to the oven’s quirks, and it ended up a little over cooked, but for me that was ok, because I really like the browned crispy cheese that was on the bottom.
Today, after coffee, I went to the top of the mast and replaced the wind instrument which Pat brought for us. We now have our full compliment of electronics back. One doesn’t realize how much you use them, until they quit working. After getting out of the protected cove, we were actually able to motor sail for a while. But after about an hour, it was right back on the nose, so the main came down again. The weather was going to get bad, so we anchored early in a protected bay. It was already raining when the anchor went down, but the wind had not yet started to build. Pat made some great roasted potatoes, and I went out and grilled some steaks on the Barbie. About halfway through the grilling process, the wind began picking up. By the time the steaks were cooked, the rain was blowing horizontally, so I got pretty wet as I took them off the grill.
Dinner turned out really well, and then it was time for a game of hearts. I was the first one out, which was ok, because I had plenty of time to do the dishes and clean up the galley. It rained very hard all night and blew at gale force most of the night. The anchor remained secure, and we had no problems. Today, we waited until 1300 to leave so things had a chance to calm down a little. Right now, I just got off watch, and we are motor sailing into fairly large seas, heading for Glacier Bay. We expect to arrive at about 1300 on Tuesday, the ninth.
Scott’s brother Jon arrived on the morning of the fourth, about two and a half hours early. There was a sinkhole along the Alaskan Railroad some where, and the train was not running. All of the train’s passengers got switched to busses, which make the trip from Anchorage quicker than the train does. I could tell that he was a Piper as soon as I saw his face. We had a great introduction to each other, and I helped him get his bag onto the boat.
The weather cooperated, and I could finally spend some time outdoors with no rain. I proceeded to scrub the boat from front to back, and gave the cockpit cushions lots of soap and water. While I was scrubbing the transom, I pulled up the crab trap, and there was a crab in it. It was too small to keep, however, but at least I know that the trap works! I managed to get the whole boat washed, and was no sooner done than the clouds came back, and then it rained all night. The boat still looks good though, and we awaited the arrival of Ken and Pat. They arrived on the train at 11:05 on the morning of the fifth. I had sailed with them at the start of my trip a year ago, and it is good to have them aboard again. They enjoy cooking, so the first place we went was to the grocery store. The taxi driver had her new pet with her. He is a Springer spaniel and a very nice dog.
Grocery shopping is one thing that I have come to enjoy, and this trip was fun as usual. When completed, we had to fold down the rear seat in a minivan to make enough room for the groceries. Ken and Pat enjoy wine very much, so there was a good supply of that on top of the stack. Upon arrival at the boat, everything got stowed and we were off the dock in short order with our destination about sixty miles away. Pat made a lunch of hot dogs for us, and it may sound silly, but I sure did enjoy having a couple of great American hotdogs with all of the fixings. It had been over a year since I had a good hot dog.
We anchored in a very calm, protected cove, and as usual, when all was quiet, the sound of a nearby waterfall could be plainly heard. There was a bald eagle cruising around, and he sat in a tree not far from us for a little while. Ken made some of one of my personal favorites, macaroni and cheese, from scratch. Unfortunately, he was unaccustomed to the oven’s quirks, and it ended up a little over cooked, but for me that was ok, because I really like the browned crispy cheese that was on the bottom.
Today, after coffee, I went to the top of the mast and replaced the wind instrument which Pat brought for us. We now have our full compliment of electronics back. One doesn’t realize how much you use them, until they quit working. After getting out of the protected cove, we were actually able to motor sail for a while. But after about an hour, it was right back on the nose, so the main came down again. The weather was going to get bad, so we anchored early in a protected bay. It was already raining when the anchor went down, but the wind had not yet started to build. Pat made some great roasted potatoes, and I went out and grilled some steaks on the Barbie. About halfway through the grilling process, the wind began picking up. By the time the steaks were cooked, the rain was blowing horizontally, so I got pretty wet as I took them off the grill.
Dinner turned out really well, and then it was time for a game of hearts. I was the first one out, which was ok, because I had plenty of time to do the dishes and clean up the galley. It rained very hard all night and blew at gale force most of the night. The anchor remained secure, and we had no problems. Today, we waited until 1300 to leave so things had a chance to calm down a little. Right now, I just got off watch, and we are motor sailing into fairly large seas, heading for Glacier Bay. We expect to arrive at about 1300 on Tuesday, the ninth.
Jeff's Log ~ August 29th & 30th, 2008
August 29th & 30th, 2008
We arrived in Seward on Friday afternoon August 29th, and Clara got us a room at the Holiday Inn Express. We had a very nice dinner at Ray’s restaurant overlooking the bay. The following morning, we got up and met the bus to go to Anchorage so that Clara could make her flight home. The bus trip was quite scenic, and our driver Dennis did a fine job of narrating the trip. The trip ended at the museum in Anchorage. We went to the museum there, and saw how life used to be in Alaska. It sure is a lot easier now. We walked around down-town Anchorage and got some souvenirs and stuff, and then headed to the hotel where I was spending the night all alone and by myself with no Clara.
After relaxing for a bit, we went next door and got a pizza. Before long, it was time to leave for the airport. I rode in the van with Clara, and dropped her off at the airport. It is always hard to say good-bye, and this time was no exception. I headed back to the hotel, thinking that it won’t be that much longer before I go home for the winter. In the morning, I arose at 0500 to ensure a timely arrival at the train station. I took the Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Seward. The train is the best looking train that I have ever seen. It is very clean and shiny. Even the suspension parts are clean and painted silver regularly. For the first part of the trip, the train is in the same vicinity as the highway.
We went down the Turnagain Arm, which is a body of water that has large mud flats at low tide. It was high tide when the train went through, and we saw Beluga Whales. Later, after the train went inland, we saw four moose along the side of the tracks. I had been spoiled by the scenery that I saw while cruising down from Kodiak, and the train trip actually was anticlimactic for me. It still was a very nice trip, and I would highly recommend it for any one who has the chance to do it. The staff on the train was mostly young people who were very nice and courteous, and the Bloody Marys were spicy, just the way I like them. I was extra fortunate, because there was a rail travel club sharing the same car. Their speaker knew a lot of the history and folk lore of the areas we were traveling through, and that made the trip very interesting. One comical thing that was said on the bus and the train was about a town called Moose Pass. The town council will not allow a gas station to be in the town, because they do not want “Moose Pass Gas” in their town. I arrived back in Seward at 11:05, and headed back to the boat just in time for the rain to begin.
We arrived in Seward on Friday afternoon August 29th, and Clara got us a room at the Holiday Inn Express. We had a very nice dinner at Ray’s restaurant overlooking the bay. The following morning, we got up and met the bus to go to Anchorage so that Clara could make her flight home. The bus trip was quite scenic, and our driver Dennis did a fine job of narrating the trip. The trip ended at the museum in Anchorage. We went to the museum there, and saw how life used to be in Alaska. It sure is a lot easier now. We walked around down-town Anchorage and got some souvenirs and stuff, and then headed to the hotel where I was spending the night all alone and by myself with no Clara.
After relaxing for a bit, we went next door and got a pizza. Before long, it was time to leave for the airport. I rode in the van with Clara, and dropped her off at the airport. It is always hard to say good-bye, and this time was no exception. I headed back to the hotel, thinking that it won’t be that much longer before I go home for the winter. In the morning, I arose at 0500 to ensure a timely arrival at the train station. I took the Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Seward. The train is the best looking train that I have ever seen. It is very clean and shiny. Even the suspension parts are clean and painted silver regularly. For the first part of the trip, the train is in the same vicinity as the highway.
We went down the Turnagain Arm, which is a body of water that has large mud flats at low tide. It was high tide when the train went through, and we saw Beluga Whales. Later, after the train went inland, we saw four moose along the side of the tracks. I had been spoiled by the scenery that I saw while cruising down from Kodiak, and the train trip actually was anticlimactic for me. It still was a very nice trip, and I would highly recommend it for any one who has the chance to do it. The staff on the train was mostly young people who were very nice and courteous, and the Bloody Marys were spicy, just the way I like them. I was extra fortunate, because there was a rail travel club sharing the same car. Their speaker knew a lot of the history and folk lore of the areas we were traveling through, and that made the trip very interesting. One comical thing that was said on the bus and the train was about a town called Moose Pass. The town council will not allow a gas station to be in the town, because they do not want “Moose Pass Gas” in their town. I arrived back in Seward at 11:05, and headed back to the boat just in time for the rain to begin.
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